Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Bailey Uh-Oh

I mean - the Bailey Hundo! I may have bitten off more than I can chew recently when I agreed to ride a 100 mile mountain biking charity event in less than 8 weeks.
A) I have not ridden a mountain bike in 4 years
B) My current mountain bike has a bent deraileur, bad breaks, and is missing a front wheel
C) I should be more worried about paying my mortgage than donating to charities
D) I would have a hard time finishing 100 miles on a road bike these days.
E) Oh, and if I get my mtn bike operational again, it's too small for me anyway.

But here is the good news: this biking event will raise money for Trips For Kids Denver/Boulder. I think TFK is a great organization that uses bikes to provide something positive and productive into which at-risk youth can channel their energy. In addition, it will raise money to build more trails in the Bailey, CO area which will in turn get more people out on their bikes. Also, not to be forgotten, this event will get me out the door to train!
So, here's what I'd like: I'd like each person reading this to take 4 minutes out of their day and go to this website and donate $5-$10 to Trips for Kids. And in the comment section, you can write that it's for "Tom Zirbel's Bailey Hundo ride". I'm making this up as I go, but that sounds reasonable to me. I will be tapping my dwindling savings account for this cause, and I'm hoping for $5 from YOU. And I'll let you in a well-known secret in case this is your first time donating in awhile: In addition to helping out a worthy cause, donating helps the donor. I feel pretty good about myself after donating to charities. Donating is actually a very selfish act for me. So go ahead, indulge yourself today! :)
Thanks for reading. I'll give updates on how this little project is progressing.

12 comments:

BlackBird Images said...

Done - cool cause.

scooter4j said...

How tall are you? If my mtn bike fits you can use it.

Unknown said...

Hey scooter4j,
thanks for the offer. I'm guessing I'm a 23" but could probably fit on a 21" in a pinch. I need to get training on a mtn bike asap though so I don't break my neck in the race - that'd be bad press. I'll probably just try to get my old bike operational.

scooter4j said...

Hmmm, I'm actually not sure of the "inch" size of the bike. I'm 5-10, long legs/short torso and the bike works for me, though it's a touch on the small side. Bought from a former chick pro mtn biker. Soft tail, XTC components - definitely a racer-type mtn bike.

If that sounds like it might fit and you're interested, we can arrange a hand-off this weekend (5/1). I'm racing in Golden on Saturday and Longmont on Sunday. I live near Ft. Collins so could hit Boulder on way back from race Saturday or we could meet in Longmont on Sunday. You can keep it as long as you need for training and the event.

let me know. my email: scooter4j@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Wow, that's very thoughtful, Scooter4j. I'm 6'5" tho, so I think I would make it look like a circus bike. I appreciate the offer though! Good luck with the racing this weekend.

scooter4j said...

damn dude. that's tall. esp. for a cyclist. yeah, I think my bike would be a bit small. bummer.

thanks for the good-luck wish. I could use some since my season isn't going so well so far.

HP said...

Have you seen a map of the course? What kind of elevation gain?

Hank said...

Have you seen a map, or elevation gain for this ride/race? Sounds tough, but some great trails in Bailey.

Unknown said...

Really all that I know is what's on that web page. From the sounds of it, I'm not sure they even know what the course will be yet.
I'm hoping that they take pity on me and not make it toooo difficult.

Hank said...

New info at the website - Map and Profile. Looks like it might hurt a bit.
http://www.adrogen.com/bailey100/

Unknown said...

Okay, so I'm a little apprehensive after looking at that profile. 14,000+ft total elevation gain? It looks like a profile from a queen stage of a grand tour.

Scott said...

Only a 20 mile MTB climb in the second half of the ride! But if Senator Romer can do it (he works out at my gym...well sort of works out) you certainly can.